From changes to teacher evaluation to the inner workings of the teachers’ unions, reporter Madeline Will keeps you up to date on the biggest issues shaping the teaching profession today.

Must-Read Posts by My Colleagues!

My extremely talented colleagues are giving Teacher Beat a run for its money! Sean Cavanagh and Debra Viadero have must-read items about teachers up at their respective Ed Week blogs.

Over at the brand-new and already very popular Inside School Research, Debbie looks at an updated study of Teach For America teachers with a comparison group.

This study's methodology was questioned when it first came out, so its researchers incorporated a bunch of new data and re-ran the analysis. I won't spoil the results, but I will say that it's good news for TFA.

Over at Curriculum Matters, Sean Cavanagh discusses one science teacher's concern that professional learning communities in science aren't focused enough to drive improvements in teacher performance.

Since the PLC model of professional development has become really popular and could even appear in the next iteration of the No Child Left Behind law, this is an important point. What are the key features of a professional learning community that make it work effectively? How narrow of a focus do they need to have? And how do they need to change based on subject area and grade level?

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